Construction is set to begin on Overlanders bridge next month.
(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
March 31, 2015 - 4:29 PM
KAMLOOPS - With the imminent construction on Overlanders Bridge, business owners, band council members and city staff are discussing solutions to the impact of traffic re-routing in the area.
Construction on Overlanders Bridge is expected to start in April and in a meeting with City of Kamloops council members Monday, March 30, Tk'emlups te Secwepemc band councillors raised concerns of traffic speeding through band land in order to access Halston Avenue or the Southern Yellowhead Highway, avoiding the construction area.
Coun. Fred Seymour of the band encouraged signage and a media campaign to motivate drivers to slow down while Kamloops Mayor Peter Milobar suggested exploring the option of renting temporary rubberized speed bumps.
“All the signage on the road is great, but (drivers are) just going to ignore the signs,” Milobar noted.
The North Shore Business Improvement Association is hoping to encourage commerce while the construction takes place. The association’s executive director, Steven Puhallo, is spearheading the campaign to direct residents’ attention toward buying on the north end of town.
“We’ve been working hard to position our business area to take advantage of the traffic delays through a marketing and information plan that will encourage North Shore residents to re-discover their local businesses,” Puhallo said in a recent newsletter.
The advertising campaign will be featured throughout the media. Puhallo says the association will strengthen its presence on social media to let shoppers know what’s available to them in the neighbourhood.
The six-month bridge construction project is expected to cost the city $10.3 million.
The city has also started a new hastag, #Kammute, on Twitter for drivers to follow major traffic disruptions during the summer months.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Glynn Brothen at gbrothen@infonews.ca, or call 250-319-7494. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015